I Had Quite A Day Today

've had quite a day.

First, I get to the gym early, set up all my equipment for my fitball class, and went to do the elliptical. Came back just as class was starting, and someone had taken my things! So I had to hunt down equipment from other rooms, find a spot in the room, etc. I was not amused.

Then, I noted a "weak soreness" in my left upper hip as I was sitting on the ball. I've felt this before, so didn't worry; I did the first few exercises and realized it was really starting to hurt. By the time I needed to get up off the mat (about 30 minutes in), I realized I could barely move. My friend helped me up and kindly offered to put away all of my equipment. I just thanked her and hobbled out. Getting into the car was pure torture. By the time I got home I was in serious trouble. Getting out of the car was worse than getting in. But once home, and once I was just upright, I was much better. I decided to go to the chiropractor.

She told me my SI joint (whatever that is) is all out of whack, and some muscle down there is in spasm. I got adjusted, was told I am banished from the gym until Monday, and told to come back in the afternoon. I went to leave. Well, between the pain and all the things rushing around in my head of what I needed to do, I wasn't thinking clearly. I went to back out, looked carefully in all directions, turned the wheel and backed out. Only I turned the wheel WAY too far, and "CRUNCH"--I've hit the car next to me. I wanted to crawl under a rock at that point! I apologized profusely to the very nice elderly lady whose car I'd hit. She told me not to worry about it. Her son is her insurance agent, and said the same thing. They were so very nice about it, which I really really appreciated! What a way to blow another $500 on the deductible! Oh well, it's only metal, and no one was hurt.

Came home to get everything else done on my lengthy to-do list. And realized I am going to have to kill my sister! I assumed my niece and her friend were coming in on the Turkish Airlines flight that gets in around 2:45. We made plans for my mom and dad to come down for dinner at 6 with all of us. WRONG! They are flying Delta, which I only learned when I asked my sister TODAY where I was to pick them up. Not only are they flying Delta, they arrive at 5:30 PM!!!! In the middle of rush hour! I was really not happy about this, and called my Dad to ask how he'd feel about having only one daughter, since I was going to kill my sister. My nice Daddy offered to pick up the girls for me! It's too hot for him to play golf, so he's got time. I will gladly let him do the honors! So he will get them and bring them here, and we'll greet them with pizza for a late dinner, and a nice chicken salad sandwich for Daddy. (I offered Lobster Thermidore, but he said the sandwich was fine)

Looks like I'll have some free time tomorrow--I'm quite sure I can find something to do with it. Like, maybe, SLEEP!!! More likely, I'll find other things that have to be done for the party, and feel the need to do them.

In any case, I just can't believe my baby girl has graduated from 8th grade! I remember when she graduated from Kindergarten! Where have the years gone?

Now we just have to get things ready for the party Friday, and then Saturday and beyond, I can relax and worry about LIFE.

The Biggest Loser Challenge--The Results

I am NOT the Biggest Loser. but that's ok, because I really didn't expect to be. The winners all lost over 10% of their body weight (WOW!) and had tons of points. The guy who won lost 38 pounds!

I signed up for this challenge because I needed a kick-start. The old habits had returned and I needed to get back on track. I set a goal to lose 15 pounds. I surpassed that goal.

So no, I'm not the biggest loser. But I just might be the biggest winner!

Biggest Loser Weigh-Out, and An "Off" Day From Exercise

I got up this morning and hopped on the scale. Woohoo! Down almost 15 pounds since May 3. But I knew I had, um, a little extra weight still in me, so I went out and played around on Facebook until I felt the urge to, um, get rid of that extra. (trying not to be too graphic here!) So, I got back on the scale and WOW!!!!!! The official weight on my home scale is down 15.4 pounds. My goal was to lose 15 and I did it!!

So, I put on my shorts and a tank top and my sandals and headed off to the gym to weigh out. Now, this is considerably less clothing than I wore when I weighed in on May 3. Plus I didn't eat breakfast before going today, where I had eaten and also had alot of water before the original weigh-in. Hey, I'm no stranger to the tricks of a weigh-in!

Well, the official Biggest Loser weight is down exactly TWENTY pounds!!!! WoooooooooHooooooo!!!

I walked out of the gym with a huge smile on my face. No workout for me today--I did more than enough all week! I headed home and ate breakfast, and woke up my sleeping slaves...er, I mean, teenagers.

There was plenty of yard work to occupy my time today. First, I assembled my new power washer, hauled out the extension cords and the hose, hooked it up, and started power washing everything in sight. It was fun!!! Fences. Shed. Jacuzzi. Sidewalk. Patio chairs (16 of them!) The back of the house. The patio. I supervised weed pulling, and even pulled a few myself.

And we cleaned out the garage. Really cleaned it, as in, throwing out stuff we don't need anymore, packing up all the cardboard into my car to take to the recycling center on Monday, rearranging the Christmas stuff, the whole shebang.

Other than a break for lunch, and a short break to talk my BFF, I worked from 10 am til about 4 pm. I also did some ironing in there. When I finished outside, I came inside to do some more cleanup, and to check on the progress of the aforementioned teenagers' room cleanups. The bedrooms are still a work in progress, but the playroom is immaculate! I'd never have believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes.

So, I went to log in my activity in the fitness tracker. I only put in for 3 hours, and listed it as "heavy cleaning" (which it was!). Who knew that could burn over 1000 calories? I logged my food, ordered in dinner for all of us (kids requested it, and I didn't feel like making dinner for me anyway!) I decided on a salad with grilled chicken. Always a good choice. Add some fruit and some of my yummy organic tortilla chips, and it's perfect. Plus, I got in all my water and then some.

So, even though it was an "off" day from exercise, it really wasn't after all. And right about now, I feel like I've done a whole triathalon just today!

Biggest Loser Triathalon, Day Three

It's done! I can't believe I actually did a triathalon--albeit a modified one.

I got to the gym this morning with a plan to do 30 minutes on the elliptical and then an hour with my trainer, and to come back this afternoon for the spin class and the 15 mile ride.

It didn't work out that way.

I saw the trainer who does the spin class, and asked her how crowded the class usually is. I planned to come in early to be sure I didn't get closed out of this class that I absolutely needed to take. I told her I was coming to do my 15 miles.

And then she dropped the bomb.

Oh, you do know, right, that the cycles in the spin class measure in kilometers?

WHAT?!?!?!?!?! You mean all this time I've been thinking I can do 15 MILES in an hour class, and I'm only doing 15 KILOMETERS??? Oh no, NOW what??? There's no way on earth I can do 24 km in an hour class where I usually do 15.

I went and did the workout with my trainer, and we came up with an idea. i could do the first 5.5 miles on a bike out in the gym, have it noted, and then come back in the afternoon as planned to do the other 15 km. So, I hopped on the bike. It was alot harder, and slower, than the ones in the spin class! It took me just under an hour to do the 5.5 miles!

I headed home for a snack that I hadn't planned on needing, changed into capris because it was getting hot, and headed out to do my many errands. I stopped at Wendy's for a salad for lunch, and got home just before 2 to eat and regroup. 3:00 found me back at the gym, checked in for the cycle class.

I started riding at 3:20. I wasn't taking any chances of not finishing by 4:30 when class ended. The instructor had an ear infection, so we had a sub, who is a total Nazi about spin class--even in a Beginner Cycle class! She had us working from the first minute.

I had already ridden an hour this morning, so I was not all that peppy. The clock refused to move--time wasn't passing! I covered up the readout so I wouldn't focus on how far I'd gone or how long I'd been riding. I peeked now and then. 20% done. 1/3 done. 50% done. By that time, I was pretty much done in. I didn't want to ride anymore, I just wanted to go home and sleep! I gave myself a little pep talk, and noticed that the guy in front of me was going A LOT slower than I was. Nothing like a little comparative motivation!

I pushed myself until I saw I'd done the required 15 km. But there was still 10 minutes left of the class--guess I didn't need to start early after all. At the 1 hour mark, I just tanked. I stopped. Stretched. Assured the instructor that yes, I was OK. We were down to the last few minutes of the class.

And then my display went blank.

WHAT?!?!?! Oh no! How will I prove that I did the required distance? I went up to the instructor as soon as class was over. I told her "I did 16.3 km, but the display went out.

And she then informed me that the cycles read in MILES, not KILOMETERS! Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!!! She believed me on the distance though, and happily signed my paper, saying she saw me working and knew I'd done what I needed to do. I hobbled out of there feeling like a very exhilarated 90 year old woman!

So, I either rode 15.5 miles, or I rode 23 miles. Either way, I'm done. I made it! I survived!

Now, if I ever get my hands on the instructor who told me it was kilometers...

What Other People Think

I really thought it didn't matter to me anymore. If someone doesn't like me, oh well. The only opinions that mattered were people I care about.

WRONG!!! The fallacy of that belief hit me upside the head today.

Just yesterday I'd been glowing with the compliments and congratulations I've been getting from people at the gym for doing this triathalon. Plus, lots of nice comments about how great I look. Hey, a little encouragement is a good thing, right.

Well, that works both ways, apparently.

This morning in my Fitball class, I was talking with an older woman who is also doing the Biggest Loser challenge. We were discussing the triathalon and what we'd done so far. I mentioned that I had done the 50 laps yesterday. She said "did you see that woman who was walking?" I asked what she meant, and she said "some woman was doing the laps but she wasn't swimming all of it--she walked halfway and then when she couldn't touch anymore she swam, and then walked again." She said she thought that was cheating. I told her that the fitness guru lady had said it didn't matter how you did the laps--swim, doggie paddle, float, walk, run, whatever, as long as you did 50 laps. She said she still thought it was cheating because it made it easy.

I don't know if she knew I was that woman. I think she didn't, and was voicing a genuine opinion. My friend thinks she knew exactly who it was, and was being snarky. But it doesn't matter if she knew or not. I felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach. I spent the entire Fitball class wondering if maybe I should go back and swim the 50 laps again, swimming the entire way. And maybe I should redo the 8 mile walk because I did most of it on the elliptical and that's not fair either (even though the fitness guru lady said it was OK.)

The whole thing really sunk my mood. I had been feeling so proud of myself for what I'd done, and now I felt like a fake. I talked to my Mom and my BFF, and they both said I did nothing wrong, and that what I did certainly counted. Then I talked to my friend who is my massage therapist, and she really set me straight.

She pointed out that I am not doing this to compete against other people. I am doing it for ME. I am pushing myself harder than I ever have. I did the elliptical for twice as long as I ever did before. I did 50 laps in the pool, regardless of HOW I did it, which I haven't done since I was 18. I set a goal to lose 15 pounds, and I may or may not have reached that goal. But it was all about doing MY best. If someone had told me 2 months ago that I would do a triathalon of ANY type, I'd have laughed in their faces.

The truth is, I'm 49 years old, I've had 2 double knee replacements, I have arthritis from head to toe. I spent most of my life as a massively obese couch potato. For me to participate in ANY of this is a miracle! So I can't do 8 miles on the treadmill because it would destroy my knees. Fine, I did it on the ellliptical (with approval from the "boss"). So swimming 50 laps was too much for my arms. Fine, I did a walk/swim combo instead. I still did the 50 laps. I still pushed myself farther than I'd gone before.

So what if someone else doesn't think I did it the right way? I did it MY way--the way that was right for ME. That doesn't take anything away from anyone else. It's just me, doing the best I can with what I've got. I think I have a right to be proud of myself. What someone else thinks shouldn't matter.

Biggest Loser Triathalon, Day Two

Today was the day I was dreading. I am NOT a swimmer. I've got a pretty decent doggie paddle thing going, but that's it. Plus, I'm SLOW. Add to that the fact that the last time I swam 50 laps was in college, over 30 years ago....well, you can imagine.

Fortunately, the day started out alot better than yesterday. No weigh-in today. Plenty of oatmeal to make my full breakfast. The kids even behaved reasonably well. I put on my bathing suit, capris, and an old T-shirt with the words "Expect Miracles!" I thought that was quite appropriate, since it was going to take a miracle to get me through 50 laps. A miracle, and a whole lot of prayers!

I got to the gym a little before 8. I figured I'd need close to 2 hours, and I knew there was a pool class at 10, so I wanted to finish before then. My buddy Melody was joining me for the swim so we could cheer each other on. I checked in with the lifeguard, and went to assemble my equipment.

Yes, I needed equipment. Swim cap (thanks Laura!), noseplugs (never been very good about breathing when I swim), and a flotation belt. This last one was Melody's idea. She's not a swimmer either, and said she was going to use one so she didn't drown in the deep end. I decided that it was a great idea, and did likewise.

Wearing my full array of helpful extras, I waded into the pool. Not bad--not too cold, not too warm. All the lanes were taken, so I asked the person who seemed to be moving the slowest to share her lane. And I started on my first lap.

Wow. I'm really out of shape. This is harder than I feared. I will NEVER finish this alive. That's what I was thinking as I did my first 4 laps. At the end of the 4th, I paused for a drink of water, and noticed that Melody had arrived. I also saw that the end lane was empty. So we grabbed that lane for ourselves--it didn't matter if we bumped into each other!

Our speed was pretty equal, which worked out nicely. We counted together. We chatted at the turns. And I suddenly realized that I'd done 20 laps!! I stopped for a break while Melody did 2 more laps, and then started in on my next 20. The fitness guru lady had said we could swim any way we wanted, and we could even walk in the water if we wanted to. That sounded like a smart idea, so I tried it. Walk half a lap, swim the other half when the water got deeper, swim 1/2 way back, walk the last half. Well, this was great! Much better for my arms, which are not nearly as strong as my legs.

Next thing I knew, I was at 40 laps! I took another break while Melody swam the 2 laps to catch up to me. When I was ready to go again, I couldn't find my nose plugs. I was looking around in the water and didn't see them. Oh no! How will I swim 10 laps without them??

Melody asked if I was looking for them. "Yes, I think I dropped them." "Um, Wendy? They're on your head!" And there they were, sitting high enough on my forehead that I didn't feel them! DUH!

Crisis averted, we swam the last 10 laps together. Before I knew it, we were done!! 50 laps! In just under an hour! WooHoo!!!! We hauled ourselves out of the pool, got our papers signed by the lifeguard, and headed for the jacuzzi for a much deserved hot soak.

It was really nice to hear "way to go!", "I'm proud of you" "I knew you could do it!" from the lifeguard, the fitness guru lady, and my wonderful trainer, Jaime, as I was walking out of the gym. A little encouragement goes a long way with me. And that miracle I was expecting didn't hurt either! Thank you God! All that's left now is the cycling--15 miles--on Thursday. And that's the easy part!

Biggest Loser Triathalon, Day One

The day did not begin well.

I hopped on the scale to find I have GAINED 2.5 pounds since Friday. HUH? I mean, I know I ate some cookies yesterday, but come on!!! Gave myself some positive self talk and kept going.

I went to make breakfast, and was nearly out of oatmeal. As in, I only had 1/4 cup and I needed 1/2 cup. I almost bought some last week, but I just KNEW I had 2 more boxes at home. Wrong. So I only had 1/2 of my usual serving. Not great on a high activity day.

I got to the gym and, you guessed it, every damn elliptical was in use. This is a BIG gym. There are 8 ellipticals (the kind I use anyway, there are other types too). NOW what do I do??

I saw my trainer and asked if she was free to train right then, rather than waiting an hour for my scheduled time. She was, so I worked with her for an hour first, leaving the entire 8 miles for after, instead of breaking it up into 2 sessions with training in between.

I had prepared well, bringing 2 big bottles of water and a snack of granola and grapes for my mid-point break. Only now my time schedule was all off.

I finished training and hopped on the elliptical. I think I've done an hour straight before, but at a lower intensity than I do nowadays, and I usually stop at 45 minutes. So this was going to be a long one. I just had no idea HOW long.

I don't sweat much, never have. 45 minutes on the elliptical will leave me "glistening", but that's about it. If it's really really hot out, my face and neck might get sweaty, and when I have a hot flash, my shins sweat (weird, huh?), but that's it. Well, I was sweating like a pig!! I drank all of my water. We're talking 48 ounces! No problem getting in my 8 glasses today!

I was reading a good book while I worked, so it wasn't too bad. But then I finished the book. I started another (God, I LOVE my Kindle!) but it just wasn't holding my attention very well. I kept looking at how far I'd gone, and thinking of how far I still had to go. That damn mileage display was NOT helping things!

At 5 miles, I had to take a break. The stupid machine tops out at an hour, plus a 5 minute cool down! So I had to reset. Thank God my trainer trusts me! I walked around for a minute, stretched a bit, and climbed back on. It was alot harder than I remember it being the first round. I decided to switch the display from distance to revolutions/min. I kept my speed where I usually do, but it was really really hard!

About 30 minutes in to my second round, my trainer came over to chat. I had a little more than a mile to go. I was fading. FAST. She gave me a pep talk, and stayed to encourage me. I'd sent my BFF a text, and she responded with encouraging comments like "you can do it", and "you're amazing and tough". This is why she's my BFF--she always knows exactly the right thing to say!! Thanks Tracey! Thanks Jaime!

35 minutes in, I switched back to the distance display, and realized I was almost done! I kept chatting with Jaime, and before I knew it, I'd hit the 3 mile mark! I climbed down off the machine, with more than a little difficulty, and did some stretching. I thanked her for her support, got my paper signed, and hobbled out of there. I ate my snack in the car, made a quick stop at the grocery store (oatmeal, remember?), and headed home to collapse.

Until I remembered I had to pick up my doggie from boarding. 30 minutes away.

How the heck am I ever going to swim 50 laps tomorrow?????

The Curse of the Chocolate Chip Cookies

My mom makes the world's best chocolate chip cookies. Seriously. They are famous all over the world! Spain, Turkey, Finland, Croatia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, Kosovo--you name it. And those cookies are responsible for more than a few of the extra pounds I was carrying around for so many years.

Today my mom baked cookies in celebration of my daughter's swimming success at the Summer Olympics this weekend. I grabbed a quick bite of the dough (the best part!) and told myself that was enough.

But then she had to go and BAKE them! And the whole house smelled SOOOO good! And of course I had to eat just one. And on the way out to pick up my son, just one more. And one more, and....well you get the idea.

To top that off, we had Spaghetti Pie for dinner. Pasta, eggs, cheese...all on the no-no list for food sensitivities. (as if the flour, eggs and butter in the cookies wasn't bad enough!) Oh, and did I mention we had ice cream for dessert? Ay yi yi!

So now I'm back home with a headache, feeling nauseous, and wondering eating those ghings was worth it. OK, I overdid it on the cookies. But a little ice cream? And a long-time favorite dish for dinner?

Yeah, it was worth it. Now, if only those damn cookies weren't so GOOD! (and if only there wern't still 6 of them in a bag on my counter...for the kids, I PROMISE!!! I'm done.)

Tomorrow starts the Triathalon. I suppose I could consider this carb loading...

Life Happens

And it's happening big time this weekend! My daughter is swimming in the NJ Special Olympics Summer Games (Go Marlins!!), so I'm spending the weekend at my parents (they live 5 minutes from the site of the games). In addition, I'm eating meals away from home (lunches) and prepared differently than my usual fare (dinners).

Today for lunch they had burgers and dogs. Yuck. My daughter didn't even want any! She begged me to bring her a sandwich. So I got one for myself too. Pulled out some of the bready part of the roll, and asked for only a little mayo. I had that, chips (OK, could have skipped those...) and some grapes. Not bad! Mom's making pork chops for dinner, and I got a potato and some tomatoes at Whole Foods to have along with that. My breakfast and snacks were the usal ones.

I came in range on everything except calories, and even those were only over by less than 200. Not too shabby. Tomorrow we'll go out for lunch, and I'm planning on a salad with grilled chicken. Mom's making Spaghetti Pie for dinner, which is all the things I'm not supposed to be eating (cheese, wheat, eggs) so I'll eat a small portion.

Life happens. Planning ahead really helps to deal with it!

BTW, my little fishy got a gold and a bronze today!!!

I Do Believe I've Lost My Mind!

Completely. Totally bonkers. Whacko! Yup, that's me!

I have signed up for a triathalon. Not a real one, mind you, I'm nowhere NEAR that level. But it's a thing at my gym, as part of the Biggest Loser Challenge. We have to cycle 15 miles, walk 8 miles on the treadmill, and swim 50 laps in the pool. We have a week to do it all, but each segment has to be done in ONE DAY! OK, the 15 mile ride is what I do in a normal 1 hour cycle class, so that's no problem. 8 miles on the treadmill is gonna kill my knees, and take me about 3 hours. I am allowed to do some on the elliptical instead, but that will only slow me down.

The biggest issue for me is the swimming. 50 laps? I haven't done that since college, when I did a swim-a-thon. It nearly killed me then (of course, I was nearly 100 pounds heavier at the time, but still...) It will probably take me most of a day to do it.

And on top of this fiasco, I still have to take 3 classes AND do 2 hours of personal training that same week! Well, if nothing else, it ought to boost my weight loss that week to record numbers.

Ay, yi yi, the things we'll do for $1000.

It Really DOES Make A Difference!

I've been eating properly for quite awhile now. I've stayed away from dairy, wheat, and eggs due to food sensitivities. Because of this, my seasonal allergies have been much better than usual, despite the horrible year for allergies that everyone else is moaning about. I've been feeling really good about this.

Tonite I went to a dinner that was prepared by my daughter and her teen chef classmates. I knew in advance that the menu contained all of my sensitive foods, but chose to eat reasonable portions of everything. This was obviously NOT an event that I could bring my own food to! But I know that "life happens", and sometimes we are not totally in control over what we will be eating. This was just one of those times.

The menu consisted of Spinach and Cheese Cannelloni, Cheesy Breadsticks, Caprese Salad, and Chocolate Sticky Bread. I ate the cannelloni, which was delicious, and part of a breadstick. I absolutely love Caprese Salad (mozzarella and tomatoes), so I had some of that. Then came the Chocolate Sticky Bread. Picture biscuit dough, wrapped around Hershey kisses, rolled in butter and cinnamon sugar, and placed 4 together in a muffin cup. O.M.G. Sheer heaven!!

OK, I should have had just one of the 4 little blobs of yumminess, but I couldn't help myself. It was so obscenely delicious I ate the whole thing. And didn't feel one bit guilty!!

Now I'm home. I still have an odd aftertaste in my mouth. And oh, boy, do I have a headache! My stomach is feeling a bit unsettled too. Needless to say, I will skip my usual one Hershey kiss at bedtime, since I've had 4 already. In fact, I'm thinking I'll forgo a snack altogether tonight.

I don't know why I'm surprised at these effects, but I am. It really does make a noticeable difference when I eat the things I'm sensitive to. Makes me not want to do it again any time soon. Which, I suppose, is a good thing, and maybe the whole idea in the first place!